According to news reports, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), a joint venture between the Finnish cell-phone giant Nokia and German powerhouse Siemens, delivered what is known as a monitoring center to Irantelecom, Iranâs state-owned telephone company. A spokesman for NSN said the servers were sold for âlawful intercept functionality,â a technical term used by the cell-phone industry to refer to law enforcementâs ability to tap phones, read e-mails and surveil electronic data on communications networks.
Given the Iranian government's persistent and widespread effort to silence legitimate criticism of theocratic rule and suppress non-violent demands for democracy and equal rights for all members of society, the sale of sophisticated equipment to enhance the authorities' ability to monitor and trace critics is absolutely unconscionable. Obviously Nokia Siemens Networks is only concerned about making money without any consideration for the hundreds or potentially thousands of innocents who will fall victim with the help of their technology.
Therefore we the undersigned wish to express our outrage against Nokia Siemens Networks and pledge to boycott its products.